Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma)
May the tree of our lives be rooted in the soil of love, may good deeds be the leaves, kind words be the flowers, and peace be the fruit. May the world flourish as one family, united in love. May we thus be able to create a world in which peace and contentment prevail. This is Amma’s sincere prayer.
5 keys to meaningful life
- Never squander an opportunity to help others
- Avoid using harsh words. If you cannot speak with love and respect, wait until you can.
- Make protecting nature a part of your daily routine.
- Maintain a regular spiritual practice, even to a small extent.
- Every day, strive to spend a little time discussing or reflecting on spiritual topics.
Amrita Sootra – the Aphorisms
Scriptures, Knowledge and Experience
What difference is there between someone who gives speeches and a tape recorder? Will reading cookbooks satisfy our hunger?
- Attending a lecture on the theory of cooking will not remove hunger. Knowledge alone is not enough; to practice what we grasp intellectually is more important.
- A belief obtained through telling, hearing and reading will not last long. Whereas, the faith gained from experience will last forever.
- You have heard that honey is sweet. You may put some in your hand. But unless you taste it with your tongue, you cannot experience the sweetness.
- Many scholars are like those who stay at the railway station memorising the train schedule. Will they reach anywhere?
- Can you explain the beauty of a flower, or describe the sweetness of sugar? So how can the beauty of the Infinite be described? It has to be experienced.
Experience (in moderation)
- When we are hungry we eat just enough food to appease our hunger, and not all the food in the kitchen. Many scholars waste their lives eating the whole thing.
Meditation (in moderation)
- If a person who doesn’t have the strength to lift more than forty kilos suddenly lifts a hundred kilos, he will stagger and fall. Similarly, if you meditate more than the body is able to bear, it can lead you to problems.
- Solitude (at the beginning): A student cannot sit and study in a noisy crowded railway station, can he? Similarly, a sadhak (seeker) needs solitude in the beginning. After a certain amount of practice, he will be able to meditate under any condition.
Karma Effect
- If you turn on the main switch, electricity is available everywhere in the house. But if you want light in your own room, you have to turn on the switches in that particular room. Turning on the light in one room doesn’t automatically light up all the rooms. Everything is the same Self, but only the person who purifies his mind through Sadhana (methodical/disciplined practice/meditation) realises that Self.
Forms of God and Goddesses
- If you look at a painting of your father, is it your father or the painter that you see? God is everywhere, but still, when you see the image in a temple, you remember Him.
- When we get on a bus, we are not planning to live in it, are we? Our aim is to reach home. It is the same with the worship of forms.
Goal of Life
- You can take birth in a temple, but don’t die there. That is to say that, in the beginning, a seeker can do temple worship as stepping stone, but the final and real goal is beyond all these things.
- Asking how many times one should chant the mantra (sacred utterance/motivating chant) is like asking how much water should be given to a plant for it to yield fruit. Watering is required, but the amount of water depends on the nature of the plant, climate, quality of the soil and so on. Water alone is not enough. The plant needs sunlight, fertiliser, air, protection from pests, etc. Similarly on the spiritual path, chanting the mantra is only one facet. Good deeds, good thoughts and association with virtuous people are also necessary.
- If you do spiritual practices and still get involved in a variety of worldly things, all the power gained through concentration will be lost.
Qualities of a Spiritual Seeker
- Just as the flower falls when the fruit takes shape, worldly desires will disappear when detachment ripens.
Discrimination
- With fire, we can burn down our home or cook our meal. With a needle, we can pierce our eye or stitch our clothes. Move along your path with constant discrimination.
- If we know that fireworks are being shot, the next bang won’t startle us. In the same way, know the nature of this world and do not lose equilibrium.
Learning from Sorrows
- If a thorn pricks your foot when you walk, you will step more carefully. Thus you may escape falling into a ditch that may be just ahead. God gives us small sorrows to save us. Learn to see all the joys and sufferings that come to you as sent by God for your own good.